There has been much discusion about the Translation of John 1:1.

The most popular translation of this verse is as follows:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

The Greek of this verse is as follows:

En arche en ho Lógos, kaì ho Lógos en pròs tòn Theón, kaì Theòs en ho Lógos.

Very literally, the English should read as follows:

In beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the God, and God was the Word.

It has 3 parts. Let's break down each part with the Greek 1st and than the English.

En arche en ho Lógos,
In beginning was the Word,

kaì ho Lógos en pròs tòn Theón,
and the Word was with the God,

kaì Theòs en ho Lógos.
and God was the Word.

A controversy appears when you get to the 3rd part.  In the 2nd part, it says very explicitly that the Word was with "The God." This seems to be very specifically pointing to the Father, the One God.

The third section fails to specifically use the article "The."  This gives us 3 possible ways to translate this section:

1) "A God was the Word." (Meaning one of multiple Gods)
2) "God was the Word." (Implying The God was the Word)
3) "Divine was the Word." (Implying God-Like was the Word)

Now, the only way to determine how this should be translated is to look at the context of the verse.

The first thing we see about context is that the first 3 words "In the beginning," throws us back to Genesis 1:1-3.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light."

Here we see that "In the Beginning" God creates the heavens and the earth.  The word for God here is "elohim," which is the plural form of the general word for God.
We also see that the Spirit of God is hovering over the waters.
We also see that there is the Word of God, as God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Are we to surmise that Genesis 1:1 is saying that there are 3 Gods? This conclusion cannot be drawn for two reasons. First, The rest of the creation passage often reverts to the singular when referring to God. Second, the rest of the Pentateuch which are all written by Moses, according to tradition, emphatically proclaims there is one God, YAHWEH. The plurality of Elohim, must refer to a different aspect of God rather than a numerical aspect.

The next place of context to look in in the rest of John chapter 1. Verse 3 says,

"Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."

Remembering what we learned from Genesis 1:1, The ONE God made all things. Now we are being told that the Word made all things.

In verse 14, we begin to see who is going to be identified as the Word:

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Verse 17 pinpoints who the Word is.

"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

Then in verse 18, we see a conclusion of what is being said about the Word, in this passage.

"No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known." (NIV)

Verse 18 also gives us another challenge.  There are a few variant tests.  It centers around the words "the one and only Son." More manuscripts, and earlier manuscripts actually have "the one and only God," or "the only begotten God." For a good explanation of this go to: http://www.forananswer.org/John/Jn1_18.htm

The NIV translation does a paraphrase here by adding "who is himself God."  The NIV translators are taking the position that the majority text reads "only begotten God" and it is meaning that is being relayed here, do this is the net effectof this verse.

We will need to connect John 1:18 with the rest of the gospel of John, to finalize the contect of this verse and the meaning of John 1:1, but first let's examine John 1:18 in the Greek.

Theon oudeis heoraken popote
God   no one has seen ever yet

monogenes      Theos (Uios)
only begotten  God   (Son)

ho  on    eis ton kolpon tou    Patros
the being in  the bosom  of the Father

ekeinos  exegesato
the same has revealed.

I have noted in parenthesis where the word "God" is replaced with the word "Son" in some manuscripts. Notice we have 4 parts to the sentence here. The first part says that no one has seen God. The remaining parts are in contrast to that. The first part has the subject of God (Theon in Greek).  The subjects in the remaining parts are different. We have these subjects:

1) The only begotten God.
2) Th one being in the bosom of the Father.
3) The same. The word ekeinos is not your ordinary pronoun. Sometimes it is translated he, she, or it. It is an emphatic meant to draw your attention to the one you are talking about. Here is ties in "The Only Begotten God" with "The one being in the bosom of the Father."

Now, only begotten here does not refer to "born," but rather to "kind." Whether this is followed by "God" or "Son," you cannot mistake the next phrase. "The being IN the bosom of the Father." Not, "the being ON the bosom of the Father." The being IN the bosom of the Father. You cannot be any more God than being IN the bosom of the Father. If you are INside the bosom of the Father, you are there. You are the Father.

The same. The same as what was described as "The Only Begotten God," and "The being in the bosom of the Father," has revealed. Has revealed is at the very end of the sentence for shock value. It should be "HAS REVEALED!!!" HAS REVEALED ties in the first part with the later 3 parts. Whether you have the word "God" or "Son" in the second part, you cannot separate that from the third part, being in the bosom of the Father. Now that the same HAS REVEALED, God, The God that no one has seen, Now as the only begotten, Now as the one being in the bosom of the Father, HAS REVEALED!!! He is no longer unseen.

We must keep in mind that the Disciple John, who wrote this gospel, was a Jew.  Like Moses before him, who although he wrote "Elohim" in Genesis 1:1, proclaimed there was only One God; that John also could only conceive of One God. Like "Elohim" referred to the nature of God to Moses, the "Only Begotten" could not be another God. Instead, the "Only Begotten" HAS REVEALED his nature!!!

As we read throughout the Book of John, we will find what the Word, the Only Begotten, the being in the  bosom of the Father,  HAS REVEALED!!!

We find a revelation of grace and truth. In John 3:16, we find that God so loved the world that he gave his "Only Begotten" so whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

In John 4:25-26, it is revealed that Jesus is the Messiah.

In John 4:42, it is revealed that Jesus is the Savior of the world.

In John chapter 5, Jesus reveals that he is equal with God, 5 times!!!

In John chapter 6, Jesus is the bread of life, and "The Holy One of God."

In John 8:58, Jesus says, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

In John 9:35-39, we find out that Jesus is the Son of Man, and receives worship.

In John 10:9, Jesus says, "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture."

In John 10:11, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

In John 10:30, Jesus says, "I and the Father are one.”

In John 11:1-44, Jesus raises Lazarus after him being dead for 4 days. Jesus also says in verse 25, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

In John 12, a voice came out of heaven to answer Jesus' prayer. 27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him."

John 12:44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me."

John 12:49 Jesus said, "For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

John 14:9 "Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?"

John 16:15 Jesus said, "All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

John 16:28 Jesus said, "I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

John 17:3 Jesus said, "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."

John 17:6 Jesus said, “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world."

John 17:26 Jesus said, "I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

In John 19, Jesus is crucified, and when he dies, Jesus said, “It is finished.”
Jesus is crucified in a manner that fulfills prophecy. Verse 36: "These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

Jesus is risen from the dead in John 20:17 "Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

John 20:30 "Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe[b] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

John 21:25 "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written."

So, there you have it.  The Gospel according to John overwhelmingly reveals that Jesus and God are one in the same. This is written by a Jew that cannot conceive that there is a plurality of gods. To make Jesus out to be a god-like creature or offspring of God would also be inconceivable to John. What is revealed is that God in his very nature is Jesus Christ, and that Jesus Christ in his very nature is God.

Now, let's go back to John 1:18. There are these 4 sections:

God   no one has seen ever yet
only begotten  God  (Son)
the one being in  the bosom  of the Father
the same has revealed.

It does not matter whether part 2 uses God or Son.  There are 4 subjects in one sentence.

1) The God no one has yet seen
2) The only begotten God
3) The one Being in the Bosom of the Father
4) The same

And there is just one verb for these 4 subjects, which are all unified with the word meaning "the same."

Has Revealed

There is no antecedent in this sentence. It is left incomplete.  The completion is the rest of the book.  The summary for the rest of the book is,

Himself, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, there is only one way to translate John 1:1, which is:

"In beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the God, and The God was the Word."

And there is only one way to translate John 1:18, the theme of the gospel according to John, which is:

"The God that no one has yet ever been seen, the only begotten God-Son, the being in the bosom of the Father, the same HAS REVEALED HIMSELF, JESUS CHRIST!!!